Officials said no one was hurt Friday evening when a Wyoming Army National Guard UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter had to make an emergency landing in a remote area of northwest Laramie County.
The four-person crew was conducting standard training with night vision goggles when the incident occurred around 7:45 p.m., according to Alyssa Hinckley, director of public affairs for the Wyoming Military Department. She said the cause of the incident is unknown, but an external investigation will be conducted by personnel from Fort Rucker, Alabama.
Hinckley said the crew had taken off from the Army Aviation Support Facility on F.E. Warren Air Force Base. She said the four soldiers on the flight were conducting the night-vision exercise as part of a normal drill weekend, the one-weekend-a-month commitment Guard members make when they join.
“Routine training that we conduct enables us to safely execute emergency landings, when needed,” Hinckley said by phone Saturday. “That’s the purpose of doing trainings on a routine basis, is so that when we get in a situation, we can prevent injuries, minimize the loss of life and destruction of property and equipment.”
Because the helicopter is inoperable, it will remain at the emergency landing site until the investigation is complete. No timeline was available Saturday for that to occur, but Hinckley said Guard members would remain with the helicopter until it can be removed.
Although the exact location wasn’t released, Hinckley said it was in a remote area that is along a path frequently used by Guard aviators for these types of training exercises.
The Wyoming Army National Guard has 10 UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, which are operated by G Company, 2nd Battalion, 211th Aviation. Several of them have been deployed overseas, including in 2019 to Afghanistan.
It was not immediately known whether this particular aircraft had been part of such a deployment.
Black Hawks are also used by the Wyoming Guard to help fight wildfires. Using a bucket and long cable, they can scoop water out of nearby lakes and reservoirs, then use it to douse flames.
Incidents like the one Friday night are rare, Hinckley said. The last one was on June 13, 2020, near Greybull, which injured two civilians participating with the Guard unit in search-and-rescue training. The injuries were not life-threatening.
The cause of that incident was listed as a power failure in the helicopter, according to a news release issued at the time.
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